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We’ve already seen Ubuntu’s hybrid mobile operating system, but the big question was whether or not Canonical would be able to garner support from actual hardware manufacturers and prominent carriers. Today, through an Indiegogo campaign aimed at raising $32 million, Canonical unveiled its dream piece of hardware: Ubuntu Edge.

At the beginning of this year, Canonical unveiled the software side of its grand plan, Ubuntu for phones. The main draw of the operating system was that it could shift into a desktop OS when plugged into a monitor. A little over one month later, we saw Ubuntu for tablets — essentially the same idea, but tailored for tablets. Canonical released something of a developer preview that could be installed and tested on certain Android devices, but while intriguing, the software was kind of a mess. A couple of months ago, we got word that the software would take on a more stable existence. Throughout all of this, everyone wondered what Canonical would be doing about the hardware side of things. Today, the company unveiled its plan on Indiegogo, and it’s a rather expensive one at that. With a $32 million funding goal, Canonical is attempting to raise funds for Ubuntu Edge, a smartphone specifically designed to run the mobile OS.

The phone features a 4.5-inch screen, protected by sapphire crystal rather than tough glass named after an animal. The hardware doesn’t disrupt the mobile operating system’s dream — you can still hook it up to a monitor and it’ll transform into the desktop Ubuntu you already know and (maybe) love. In order to do that, though, the phone needs to pack some serious power, and will feature at least 4GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, a silicon-anode battery, and “the fastest available multi-core processor,” which remains vague but shouldn’t be a slouch based on the phrasing. The phone will also feature a dual-LTE chip so you can access 4G while traveling.

Along with being able to morph into Ubuntu for desktops, the phone will dual-boot mobile Ubuntu as well as Android so you can have integration with your collection of Android apps right at launch. Canonical also vows to release monthly updates for the device, as well as offer support for the phone for three years.

While this all sounds great if you’re a fan of Ubuntu or smartphone progress in general, what’s astonishing — aside from that $32 million funding goal — is that the phone will run $830. Granted, that is without carrier subsidy, but still. Still. If you back the project with 600 of your very own dollars today, you can be one of 5,000 people to receive a phone (whenever, if ever, they get made) for that discounted price.

The concept of the dynamic Ubuntu operating system is nothing short of extremely desirable, and quite possibly, according to our dear senior editor Sebastian Anthony, the direction technology is heading anyway. At the moment, though, Edge is just an expensive concept — and might generate a rivalry with Razer — but if Canonical can actually produce a phone as powerful as the funding campaign suggests, it might actually be worth the asking price. Of course, we won’t know for sure until it actually exists.

I don’t like your attitude, but find it hard to disagree with your conclusions.

Xplorer4x4

Linux is still free. Look at an unsubsidised Moto Razr HD. It packs a free Linux based os(Android) and costs something like $600. the $600-$800 price tag for this device is VERY reasonable if they can deliver with the promised hardware. That’s not even counting the fact you get 3 years of updates.

Marc Guillot

I like a lot what Ubuntu seems to be doing, but I won’t be a $830 betatester. I’ll wait for second or third generation.

Anyhow I’m very disappointed with the specifications. 4Gb RAM, 128GB Storage and the fastest mobile processor available aren’t what I was expecting to be needed to use full Linux on a phone (running native software was supposed to be faster than running Java Dalvik applications on Android).

http://www.canonical.com/ Steve George

Hi Marc,

Those specs aren’t want you need to run Ubuntu on a phone. The test devices use smaller CPU’s and a lot less space. But for this campaign we’re trying to push forward hardware platforms as much as the software platform is. For example, it’s using a type of glass that’s never been used in long production runs and the battery is also a type that hasn’t been used before so widely. So it’s really aiming at tech enthusiasts and power users – not mass consumers.

Marc Guillot

Thanks for the update, Steve.

As I said before, I really love what I’ve been seeing. Keep the good work converging TV, desktops, tablets and phones.

Maventwo

But with dual OS will 4gb RAM and 128gb internal memory be something extra!
LTE dual antennas is also top edge tech!

some_guy_said

The specs are similar to the higher end win8 tablets like the surface pro, ativ700, etc.

In totality, it does seem like a decent deal per what they are proposing…but it seems to be awfully expensive for a phone, yet too cheap to really pull off the hardware they are proposing, and too small to use all that power for more than an hour or two.

Xplorer4x4

“it seems to be awfully expensive for a phone”
Galaxy S4 = $650
Galaxy Note II = $700
I don’t see the price being to expensive for a phone(ok granted the Note II is a phablet but it’s not a tablet so I threw it here) but I am amazed to see this sell for $800 for the reasons you stated above.

some_guy_said

It’s more than $100 more than the high end flagship phones…

And that’s only magnified when you consider the subsidized price. Would you rather have a galaxy S4 for $200 or an untested ubuntu phone for $350?

Xplorer4x4

“It’s more than $100 more than the high end flagship phones…”

Yet the SSD alone is probably worth the $100 difference, or pretty close to it. I could go on and on but look at the cutting edge technology being used in this device, if it does indeed make it to mas market. You said it yourself, this is more in line with a high end Windows tablet, but yet even those tablets do not use most of this technology. Given what we see here, it is easily worth the $100 price increase hardware wise. It is probably more like $200-$300 given the cost of cutting edge technology.

“untested ubuntu phone for $350?”

First, your OP had nothing to do with the testing factor, but secondly, since you mentioned it, you neglected that this is going to run Android as well.

some_guy_said

First, higher end windows tablets do have equivalent hardware, and a similar price. Surface Pro 128gb…

Second, from the perspective of the phone category, the difference in price is substantial.

Lastly, as I posted elsewhere – There is no way for this to have a world class x86 processor and have battery life. If it has good battery life, then it will just have a decent arm processor – Which changes the value proposition for an $850 product.

Second, the price itself might be substantial purely in terms of money, but when you consider the cutting edge technology in this device it seems priced significantly cheaper then what it should be.

Lastly, if this used a standard Lithium Ion battery, you would be right, but this isn’t Li-On. It’s a Silicon-anode battery which means probably 3 times as much battery power compared to standard Li-On batteries. That means you can slap a power hungry cpu in there and, in theory, expect battery life that’s comparable to an equivalent sized Li-On batter. Otherwise you could slap a nice Octacore SoC in there and probably blow away competitors using standard li-on batteries.

http://drgeorge.org/ ricegf

I never borrow money, but I’ll pay a $150 premium for the first convergence device on the market with top shelf kit and both Ubuntu and Android without hesitation and with a broad smile on my face. In fact, I just did. ;-)

cheekywena

Agreed, other manufacturers are coming out with fully functional smartphones with an average price of $450. The biggest market is the emerging markets in Africa, India, Brazil … where manufacturers (specifically China) will be targeting the market with smartphones cheaper than $200. They’ll sell a billion phones and this new Ubuntu phone will sell a handful. Not the brightest business idea.

Xplorer4x4

“Anyhow I’m very disappointed with the specifications. 4Gb RAM, 128GB
Storage and the fastest mobile processor available aren’t what I was
expecting to be needed to use full Linux on a phone”
Not sure how to read this. Is it more then what you need to run linux? Sure, but I think that is the aim. It is designed to go above the call for a basic Unity DE so that it can perform some intensive tasks.

Ricardo

Someone at ET should write something about nanowire batteries and the likelihood we’ll see them in smartphones.

Chris Shakal

Atmospheric price to go along with those atmospheric specs. With that said, I’m eager to see where this goes.

http://drgeorge.org/ ricegf

Exactly. It’s modelled on the idea of a Formula 1 car – state of the art, so I wasn’t expecting cheap (I grabbed one of the last of the 5000 “specials”). The specs aren’t final, but are intended to be at the highest end when it ships next year.

This isn’t intended to be the phone that grabs market share, but rather the phone that explores high-end kit, rather like Google’s Pixel Chromebook. It may also prove (or perhaps disprove, although it sold out the $600 version in less than the allotted day) that a market exists for Ubuntu in mobile. $32 million isn’t just a record crowd-source, it’s over *three times* the record. Make it, and smartphone vendors’ ears will perk. Almost make it, and you get a lot of buzz for free.

Postulative

From Indiegogo: “We also
believe the race for ever higher resolution has become a distraction. Beyond
300ppi you’re adding overhead rather than improving display clarity”.
That’s fascinating – but the display size and resolution make up a huge part of
a phone’s price. Canonical is offering 1280 x 720 on a 4.5″ screen, for
$830! The rest of the specs may be okay, but this is just crazy. The screen
size is barely okay (says this Galaxy Note II user), but the resolution is going
to be a problem. What Canonical “believes” is irrelevant – the fact is that higher resolutions are better on the eye.

It
doesn’t matter that you’re offering 128gb on-board, or 4gb of RAM, or dual-boot with Android -
the screen is the primary interface and it’s not up with the Joneses.

The
processor, “Fastest multi-core CPU”, also appears to be a problem.

Jeremy Garcia

Canonical is right – that extra resolution adds a lot of overhead, VERY quickly. I’m sticking with Canonical on this issue. I think sacrificing a resolution difference you’ll only ever notice under a magnifying glass for more efficient operation, along with better screen quality is a smart move (Also a Note II owner – screen is plenty sharp, even with video).

“Beyond 300ppi you’re adding overhead rather than improving display clarity. We think colour, brightness and dynamic range are now the edge of invention so we’ll choose a display for its balance of resolution, dynamic range and colour accuracy.”

Also note Apple’s marketing term “Retina Display”, which is around 300ppi, where the human eye can no longer distinguish individual pixels with normal usage on a 3.5″ screen. 300ppi on a 4.5″ makes the pixels even less noticeable. It is a relatively low resolution for a phone of that price, but not inadequate, and no other phone has a full-fledged desktop OS baked in, and, pending the SoC (my guess would be Snapdragon 800, unless a newer, faster, SoC comes out within the next few months), very few phones are able to compete. The ones that do carry a similar premium price tag without Ubuntu’s killer feature. Did I mention it’s running a full-fledged desktop OS?

http://drgeorge.org/ ricegf

The fastest multi-core CPU is not up with the Joneses? You expect *faster* than the fastest? I’m sure I’m missing something – could you clarify?

Postulative

When they don’t say what “the fastest” is, what we can expect based on how these things go is that it’ll be something quite crap at almost everything and very, very good in one task – which is then used to justify that label. It’s called misleading advertising, and the average consumer is used to reading between the lines.

http://drgeorge.org/ ricegf

Oh, I see – since they haven’t specified the exact processor, your concern is that it won’t be optimized for the type of processing you want to do. Got it.

I suspect the processor they eventually select (based in part on feedback from buyers) hasn’t been released yet, as I understand that mobile processors have fairly short design-in lives.

In any event, since they are aiming for a Formula 1 experience, I think I’ll trust them for a CPU that’s more than fast enough for mainstream desktop and mobile processing, with an excellent quality 720p 4.5″ screen. It’s the right trade off for me, but yes, this deal does come with a level of trust. After 7 years of kept promises from my perspective, though, I’m comfortable with it.

Postulative

Good job with the reading comprehension thing. Would it help you if I type more slowly?

Marketing… being… what it is,… saying “it’s the fastest”… in the real… world… tends to mean… we claim top spot… on the basis… of this one… meaningless… statistic/specification/benchmark.

Did that help? I am not criticising your buddies at Canonical any more than I will criticise anyone who claims “the best” or “fastest”. The terms are increasingly becoming meaningless.

http://drgeorge.org/ ricegf

Really? I make a gentle, good faith effort to decipher your obscure “fastest multi-core CPU” being “not up with the Jones” statement, and all you’ve got is condescension and insults? How very sad.

Postulative

Yes, you’re right – I did the classic Internet reply nark without thinking things through. I had read your response as somewhat nastier than it was, and doubled down. I should instead have remembered that this is the Internet, and it’s hard to convey meaning sensibly in writing. I am older, and should be wiser, than that.

So instead of editing my post, making both of these replies meaningless, I will produce a slightly less hostile reply:

I am sorry, ricegf, but you appear to have misunderstood what I was saying. My comment regarding “the fastest” processor was merely the result of hearing decades of meaningless marketing around “the best”, “the fastest”, “the greatest”. I am not prepared to give Canonical the benefit of the doubt, as they are surely using the same marketing-educated “experts” that produce this kind of language for almost any large enterprise. They have used a term that is meaningless without context.

Brian Thorp

This looks like a clunky, boxy, flop-before-market device. This is a niche looking for a place to happen, and its time has since passed and has already been replaced by something called Android. Waste of time, effort, and money that could have gone into making linux suck less.

Maventwo

But a docking smartphone to a display and keyboard will be the new hot item!

Maventwo

Ubuntu Edge will be the starter of a new concept where the docked smartphone will be the alternative to a PC!
But it is too expensive for being a hot item on the smartphone world market!
LTE dual antennas,4gb RAM,128gb internal memory and a fast quad core SoC
is however top edge smartphone.

loki_racer

In for one at $600. I’m happy to support a shakeup to industry.

Xplorer4x4

When is the Kubuntu version coming?! :p

Dave Cockayne

Disappointing.

If you really want to shake up the smartphone market, expand it into specialised computing by having the phone as a processing core with an eco system of hardware addons. Need a DSLR? Just add the glass. Need a microscope, medical scanner, spirit level, laser range finder, barcode scanner, projector, night vision, IR video, UV video torch, car stereo, usb storage device etc etc just use you phone with the relevant third party addon and all your digital tools and data go through the same device. Not having to stick a processor/battery/storage/physical interface in all the different devices people use would save a lot of money.

pareshvora59

We should not laugh at this idea, after all, the mobile industry has seen decimation of old biggies like Ericsson, Alcatel, Motorola by Nokia, by recongnizing the then emerging global market while others were busy protecting their own strong fiefdoms, then Apple blowing out Nokia by making software more important then phone features, and recently Samsung managing to upstage Apple using Android and its own muscle in design, manufacturing and marketing.

But the question which obviously comes to mind is what prevents the Android, IOS and Windows (if it scales in volume) to have capability of supporting a desktop interface? USB connectivity to keyboard, large LCD screen and other peripherals is not in question. The ability of OS to address this connectivity with acceptable speed will be determined by development of OS as well as growth in CPU and memory configurations. What strength Canonical and Ubuntu brings which others cannot bring or replicate?

Going by history mentioned earlier, we may see interesting battles which we cannot forecast, simply because some unknown genius can upstage larger players by visualizing future needs of customers which customers themselves cannot envision and hence cannot be found through market research. Of course even existing players can hit this future sweet spot, but existing large players are burdened with legacy and need to maintain existing products and meet customer needs already defined earlier.

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